Beams a chance, Rocky not so much

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Dayne Beams looks a chance to play, Tom Rockliff not so much - that's the early outlook as the Brisbane Lions prepare for Saturday night's clash with Adelaide at the Gabba.

Beams was tracking for a return against the Crows after missing the last two weeks with a quad injury, according to Lions Football General Manager David Noble.

“Beamsy did everything he needed to do last week in terms of his rehab so he’s a good chance to play,’’ Noble told The Courier-Mail.

“He’ll need to tick some boxes this week like getting through our main training session. How he pulls up after that will be important but we are confident he will give himself every opportunity to play.’’

The prognosis was not as strong for Rockliff, who left the field in considerable pain late in the fourth quarter of the 38-point loss to Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday after dislocating his left shoulder.

He had his left arm in a sling on the flight back to Brisbane and will undergo scans early this week to assess the extent of the damage to the shoulder that was heavily strapped for the clash with the Hawks.

Noble said it was a positive that the shoulder went straight back into the joint after Rockliff reeled out of a contest and clutched at his arm and was escorted from the field by Brisbane medical staff.

“It’s unlikely he’ll play against Adelaide but you never know with Tom,’’ Noble said.

“We’ll let it settle for 24 hours or so we get a clearer picture from the scans but it was a relatively normal dislocation.

“Some guys have played the next week with it because it settled down quickly and they can get their strength back around the shoulder so it will depend on those things with Rocky but we’ll know more after the scans.’’

Noble said Brisbane would not rush Beams back just to fill the void in experience left by the injuries to Rockliff, Mitch Robinson (foot) and Allen Christensen (collarbone).

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs